I love my Persian cat and he is getting matted... HELP!!?

Question

My Persian kittie, Yoda, loves to be outside. He has his own cat door. I went out of town for four days, left him inside (the neighbors did come over to feed and love him), and he ended up depressed and in the vet with an IV overnight, so keeping him indoors-only is not an option. I brush him often, but cannot seem to keep his mats under control. The only thing that seems to work is a fine-toothed comb. If I get the comb between his skin, and the small mat, I can pull it out. The problem is, he screams, and my heart gets faint! I can't stand to hurt him! This method leaves him with small bald spots where the mat used to be. These are small mats, so the bald spots can only be seen when I am checking him for more mats. Is he just protesting, or am I causing him serious trama? Is there a less painful way to take care of this? I love my cat so much, and would love some good advice at keeping him tangle and mat free!! I do brush him daily, but now he hates it. HELP!!

Answer 1

The groomer who answered is correct. Persian cats need to be brushed daily to ensure their coats are kept mat free. Persian coats are very fine, and they have a fluffy undercoat - many people brush the surface, which does nothing for the undercoat, and that's the part of the hair that mats easily.

I would highly recommend you DON'T pull the mats out. You are just ripping hair out of the skin in large clumps. Mats can cause infections, hematomas under the skin (collection of blood that pools in one area, kind of like a blood blister but bigger), and open sores.

Shaving him is the kindest thing you can do. Groomers can do this, as well as your veterinarian. Some cats don't tolerate being groomed well, especially if they are being shaved. In that scenario, sedating him for grooming is the way to go.

Be extremely cautious if you decide to shave him yourself. The cheap clippers from discount stores are ineffective - the motors burn out and the blades clog up with the fine hair persians have. You also have to be careful that he doesn't get clipper burn or cuts in his skin from the clippers.

Talk to a groomer or your vet and they can assist you with information on diets, grooming tools, and supplements to help.

Answer 2

There is a couple of things you can do. First is have his fur shaved off. You could also have his coat stripped by a professional groomer which will leave you the length but not the fullness. If you have a seam-ripper in the sewing kit, this can help with breaking up matts so that it doesn't remove as much hair but you need to be really careful not to stab him with it.You should try to seperate the matts by pulling them apart with your fingers before combing.

A little baby powder (do you have Johnsons brand there?) sprinkled onto the fur will help the comb slide through. When you're combing, always start at the tip of the hair and work out the knot a little at a time as you untangle it, move closer to the skin. Always HOLD the hair near his skin with thumb and forefinger whilst you do it until you get to the skin so that you don't pull the whole clump off and bruise his skin (it's like someone pulling a clump of hair off your head). Sometimes no-more-tears children's hair detangler can work but only use a little on the mat itself.

If it's possible, you could build him an outdoor enclosure so he can still see the world but there isn't as much to get embedded in his coat.

You could try adding Omega Oils to his diet, this really helps to improve the condition of the coat and helps stop it matting. I use a product called Megacoat, it's especially for cats (dogs too).

I have a ragdoll who had the same problem and combing three times a day wasn't enough. The Megacoat definately helped him and I only had to fully comb him once in the whole summer.

Answer 3

Well he wouldn't have mats if he were brushed daily. Im a groomer. You will probably need to get him shaved down. Mats do hurt animals. And they can develop infections under the mats. Don't ever bathe a matted animal, it just makes the mating worse. They turn into rock hard mats that grow closer to the skin, which can cause even more infections. And with mats in a cats skin, you either need to cut them out or get the cat shaved. Trying to brush deep mats out of a cat can rip its skin open. Cats skin isn't attached to any muscle tissue so the skin is super thin and easy to rip!!!
Once your cat gets shaved, then maybe you should start keeping him inside and brushing him everyday! Try a higher quality of food too thats good for his coat.

Answer 4

Take your cat to a professional groomer. I have a Himalayan and she is groomed on a regular basis. I do brush her everyday but after a month of two, she starts getting mats. When she is groomed, she is bathed, blown dry and brushed out. She also gets shaved...her belly, her throat and the sanitary shave. She has the fur trimmed of her paws and gets her nails clipped. She comes home happy and all fluffy clean.

Long hair cats can be a pain to keep groomed. That's why my cat is done professionally. It's worth the $50-60 it costs to have it done.

Your cat should probably be shaved completely so you can start all over. Now that it's getting warmer, it shouldn't be a problem. Tell the groomers you want a "lion cut"...your cat will come home looking just like a mini-lion.

Answer 5

It hurts because you are pulling the hair out by the roots-like waxing your legs. You can try taking him to a groomer to keep the hair cut short, then he won't tangle so much. Persian hair is like cotton, they're not meant to be outside cats because the haircoat is so hard to keep tangle free. But if he's got it in his head that he wants to be outdoors, then the next best thing to do is get him a haircut. This haircoat needs to be fully brushed out one to two times per day to keep it tangle free, that's a lot of upkeep. Once or twice a week will not keep up on the mats.

Answer 6

I have a cat with long hair to. she is my cat that i love so much. she gets mats too. i tried combing them out but she HATED it. If you are really careful you can cut them off, or get a groomer to do it. it is getting warmer so the cats are shedding. try getting a brush that gets all that extra hair that they shed.

Answer 7

take your kitty to the groomers and get him shaved. Then start putting i teaspoon of olive oil in his food once daily. This will help the problem. After he is shaved, brush him from that day forward and will lessen the likelyhood for more mats to occur.

Answer 8

Well do as Ido every april and september I shave both my cats and my 3 dogs hair will grow back

Answer 9

well there is something that you can get for youre cat . its a medican that use for pets that has skins problems like maties and fleas and ticks . there is also pets collar you can get for youre cat its a white medican collar where the cat just wear it for long time tik it get old then you had to change it like every once a month .

Answer 10

send him back to persia